Redemption

Peter and Mary driving cross-country, entering Desperation, Nevada. Red lights flash and their destiny changes as the patrol car pulls behind them. Collie Etrangian, arm of the law, stops them and searches the back of their car There in the trunk some drugs in a bag, and they find themselves arrested. Pulled them over to the side of the road with a body that's bloated and bursting, too old. "We'll get this sorted out in Desperation, Tak!" Hatred is burning under his skin, and an evil power that eats from within. He bleeds from his eyes as he drives them by, the biggest mine in North America. Technology working anew in the depths, the soul of the mine now disturbed from its rest. Answers will be found in Desperation! There's a little dead girl lying on the steps of the jail, and Collie guns down Peter as he stares her in the eyes The Carver family hears the shot from the cell, and wonders why their daughter had to die. Ralph and Ellie Carter, and their son David too staring from within the cell like animals in a Zoo. Something brought them here to Desperation. With them is Tom, the only one from the town. His alcoholic's spirit is beaten and worn down. And Mary joins this group in Desperation.

Submitted by Corpse Grinder — Apr 26, 2025

Years of writing books long behind him now. A nihilistic confidence and a smile upon his face. Johnny Marinville and his Harley through the desert, one last ride to make him feel young again. He came back from Vietnam, only one to escape the bomb that tore apart the bar in which he drank with his friends. Living with the question of why he was the sole survivor, fighting the dreams that plague him and wondering when they'll end. This cynic smiles and feels the wind as he speeds by the policeman on the road. He stopped and beaten, thrown in the cell with the others the bleeding cop has found. Collie takes the one, the boy's mom Ellie and drags her screaming away. Young David prays to the God he found as his friend run-down lay dying in his arms. And with his faith, the boys escapes, and frees the desert's other captives. The stumble across David's dead sister, and they bury her with tears in their eyes. Only a boy, only a man drawn together in God's plan. In the desert purposes emerge, all are here to love and serve. All across this desert town they see the butchered bodies of the dead. What could have caused this Hell on Earth, just what evil made this madness happen? And even as they hide Tak returns, possessing now a different body. Only a boy, only a man drawn together in God's plan. In the desert purposes emerge, all are here to love and serve.

Submitted by The Void — Apr 26, 2025

Hiding in the theater, listening to Tom, telling whitewashed lies about the China Pit. Whatever has happened, started when they opened it and brought out the carvings from the deepest part. David leaves the others and falls asleep while praying, a vision of sister then appears to him. Sent by God to show him the truth of what transpired and what the few survivors have to do. The Chinese came and were made slaves, deep in the mine they broke through to the Pirin Moh, the home of Tak, the Heart of the Unformed. The Red Eye of Ini, where its evil lies, smoke from it and drove the men mad. And they murdered each other, except for two brothers who caused the cave-in as they escaped. Blamed for the cave in and hung by the town, but Tak is one of them and swore his revenge. A hundred years later the mine is reopened and the madness begins again. Bodies wear out but the souls must survive, evil and good are eternal. The path of the truth is much crueler than lies, but it sacrifice us in the end. Mary hears a voice and goes to seek it out, she thinks she hears Ellen Carver somewhere near. But Ellen's rotting body is the vessel now for Tak who captures her and takes her back to the mine. David explains the truth to the others, Tak from the well of souls, another dimension. Took Collie's body, the evil awakened and now they must destroy this affront to God. Bodies wear out but the souls must survive, evil and good are eternal. The path of the truth is much crueler than lies, but it sacrifice us in the end. Johnny now recalls what really happened in Nam, Tak was in the Vietcong that planned the bomb. Could have warned the others were he less concerned with stealth, but he sprinted from the building and he only saved himself. Deep inside the author knows the boy is right and their path is clear. He finds a God he never knew, closes his eyes and prays. Bodies wear out but the souls must survive, evil and good are eternal. The path of the truth is much crueler than lies, but it sacrifice us in the end.

Submitted by Morgoth — Apr 26, 2025

Johnny knows why he was spared in Vietnam, God has a reason for his sacrifice. Johnny knows David thinks it all will fall on him, but the message is clear and he knows he has a purpose. The writer descends into the heart of the mine, down to the bottom of the well of souls. Falling through darkness, bloodied and broken, he spreads the explosives as death takes hold. Johnny stands a final time as his life slips away, Tak screams in anger and commands that he stop. But the heart of the unformed can no longer sway him and he finishes his life's last task. God can be everything, God can be cruel, sometimes He makes us live. Carrying a burden for thirty three years, they are no longer his sins to forgive. With the smoke of the Ini rising up in the sky, destroyed by the power of daylight. The four survivors leave the nightmare behind them and head toward the open highway. In the back of the car sits a folder of photos, materialized out of nowhere. The handwritten label says they're from David's school but the writing is in Johnny's hand. Two different lives somehow intertwined, two vantage points of a parallax view. Heaven and Earth somehow connected giving a glimpse of the eternal truth. As he opened the folder and pulls out the picture, young David Carver's astonished. The picture's of Johnny and David's dead sister, although they have never met. In the picture they're standing on the very street where David's friend Brian lay dying in his arms. Written at their feet are the words "First John 4/8", and Mary asks David what it means. God is Love! God can be everything, God can be cruel, sometimes He makes us live. Carrying a burden for thirty three years, they are no longer his sins to forgive.

Submitted by Finntroll — Apr 26, 2025

When we enter its domain will the answers follow or will the wind and rain predict tomorrow or will they combine and dictate our fears? feeding our minds the violence here, we can end the apathy nocturnal. When we enter the darkness will our heart lead the way in the land of thoughtless or will you just fan the flames or will they combine and dictate our fears? Feeding our minds the violence here! We can end the apathy nocturnal, the blackest night before the dawn. Nocturnal!

Submitted by Immortal — Apr 26, 2025

There's a kid who sees the world, a selfish kid, a smart kid, a good kid. By his own means he knew the price of life, by his own means he knew the price for you. He must reveal it now but to who? A cluttered world, a damaged world, a lost world he lives in, he stammers for the door but it is shut. Get out of the bars young one, reach for the stars young one, reach for the stars and be free. Seek shelter in voices you hear in the night, rid yourself of the world that surrounds you. They don't care, now you should go! Seek to find all that is, reach high for life. "I'll search for answer and I'll search for friend, and I'll search for you until I'm gone. Now I must go be free." Climb towards the sun and burn your fingers on life, if you're lucky you'll burn your body and soul. Remember the dreams, remember the visions, remember the morals and values you had. And never forget the view from above! "Shatter me true until I'm gone and alone, heal me until I'm whole." See her lying there in the shade listening to the sounds of the green. Wishing, waiting, wanting so bad! She seeks the knowledge of the dream you once had, and wonders if you can recall that day. You stood in the park while it got dark and conversed among the souls of the dead. Among the souls of the dead! One hundred billion people sifting through the sands, looking for love and searching for truth. How misguided they've become since their youth, become since their youth. Twisted and rotting and smelling of death, their minds lie wasted and yearning for breath. And wanting and wanting some air, they crumble and fall onto the ground in despair. And the Gods look from the Heavens, and the men look from their graves, and the Gods cry "Damn!" and a light flashes forth. Silence is fallen all over the land, and a black void settles over the night. From the filth and the blood and the crowd does emerge an angry young man with a poem in hand. A prayer in his head, a blessing in heart and an answer to all on the tip of his tongue. "Let the smoke clear, look upwards my friends. See the beginning of life, see life's tragic ends. And never forget the boys who have died for a cause not their own but of the wise." We still survive but the sun has been lost and it falls to blaze, lost in pollution's excretion of haze. Individuals do emerge but so few and apart, they are unseen by the evil and stark. And the landscape that bears the immortals who share, who give of themselves and receive only care. The care of one hundred trillion people in space, and the care of one hundred billion who live on the place. The ones far out and the ones who discover are the ones who inspire a man and his lover. From the dawn of time to the reaches of space companionship and trust are the keys to fate. We want to fear all of the knowledge that we lust. Why do we work? Why do we play? Why do we kill? Why do we live? I want to be happy and I want to know sad, I want to have knowledge and I want to be dumb. I wish for the day, and it will come that I know all the answers. And I know what to be, and I know what to search for, and I know where to achieve. And there it shall lie my corpse in the gutter with knowledge and love, and the taste of the better. Looking through the window to space!

Submitted by Corpse Grinder — Apr 26, 2025

As I lay dying I saw the eyes, the eyes of God. Thy kingdom come! A force so strong, pulled me along as I lay dying. As I lay dying I laughed as I had never laughed before. At circumstance and the evened score, as I lay dying. As I lay dying I touched the air, felt the chill, the blinding stare of my mind's eye, Began to cry as I lay dying. As I lay dying I felt so strange, although I bleed I feel no pain. And just like life it seems insane, but now I'm dying. Look at your soul in the mirror, every choice you've made is etched upon its face. Epitaph carved by your actions, are we searching for a different state of grace? No one is sure of the answer, is this just a waiting room for something else? How can you measure life? Is it something we must lose to find ourselves? Will it just go on after I am gone? I saw above my Heaven! And beneath as well the threat of Hell. Will my sins be forgiven? Will it just go on after I am gone? I saw above my Heaven! And beneath as well the threat of Hell. Will my sins be forgiven? Look at your soul in the mirror, every choice you've made is etched upon its face. Epitaph carved by your actions, are we searching for a different state of grace? No one is sure of the answer, is this just a waiting room for something else? How can you measure life? Is it something we must lose to find ourselves?

Submitted by Pestilence — Apr 26, 2025

I. Arrivals October's a rare month for boys when life is simple, pure and sweet. And the foolish youth can overlook the wolf outside the door. Come hear a tale of Halloween and one October not long past, Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway would never be quite so young anymore. Fury, the seller of lightning rods, foretells the coming storm. The light's on in the library beneath the blackening sky. Charles Halloway sits deep inside surrounded by his books. A serious, lonely and sad old man whose youth has passed him by. A sinister black train pulls through the countryside. Stops just outside of town, dark's carnivals arrived. Jim and Will,the librarians son, take to the streets at night. The smell of cotton candy seems to linger on the wind. A carnival flyer flutters through the cool October air, promising all hopes and dreams to those who dare to venture in. And Jim and Will conspire to ride the carousel. Could set their souls afire, could send them straight to Hell. II. Torments Far away but much too close for comfort carnival's calliope is playing. Halloway sits in the darkened library, thinking dark thoughts. Son at home he doesn't really know, fifty-four years seems so very old. Throws the carnival's ad in the fire, the flames grow higher. Long after midnight, children awake, journeys await them, chances to take. Run through the streets to the carnival grounds, hoping to ride the merry-go-round. 3 A.M. is midnight for the soul, never is a man so close to death. The hour of temptation is at hand, souls are damned. What's the purpose of a life of virtue? What you don't know certainly can hurt you. Every step he made he second-guessed life of regret. Ride's out of order, no one's around, hardly a whisper, hardly a sound. Thinking that they're alone but they're not, gloved hands encircle, now they are caught. III: The Carnival Late that night the boys returned, watched the carousel spin around. Turning old man into young, bringing darkness to town. Carousel turns and turns, years can scorch and time can burn. Dark's accomplice, age reversed, now becomes a boy accursed. Jim and Will stumble in to this whirling world of sin. Forward spins the carousel, Cooger ages, dies and goes to Hell. Mister Dark knows at once that the boys have seen too much. As they call for the police he and the witch wait for their plan to be unleashed. Boys return with the law, try to tell them what they saw. The witch throws her voice and the old, dead man seems to come to life again. The ruse has worked, no one believes the tales of what the boys have seen. The witch locks eyes, they fear her most, she wishes them a "short, sad life for both!" IV: Pursuits Late that night the witch takes to the sky above the town, searching for the boys who know the secret of the carousel. A black parade of circus freaks led by Mister Dark, scours every street for the boys to drag them down to Hell. The boys have seen too much and now their death will be their silence, the freaks have caskets fashioned for the little boys who hide. And Mister Dark halts the procession, seeing the librarian. He asks him who the boys are, filled with rage as the old man lies. V: The Autumn People Late that night inside the town's old library, circled by arcane and evil books scouring them for any hint of knowledge. Charles, Jim and Will! A father's son who doesn't know his dad, suddenly he wishes that he had as he sees that this old lonely man could be the only hope they have. The Carnival has been here many times, its history is found between the lines. Comes by every forty years or so since more than two hundred years ago. They feast upon the sins and fears of men, promise you just what you want and then. When they're through they'll steal your very soul, entomb you in their sideshow. And as the church bell rings they hear the opening door, the boys hide for their lives as Mister Dark arrives. VI: Temptations Temptation tearing at his soul to take a second chance, to right the wrongs to live again. No more regrets, no more living as a man to old to know his son. Resistance, he turns the offer down not willing to exchange his soul for what he wants the most. Mister Dark crushes Charles' hand and tells the witch to give the man a taste of precious death. Old man... Hear your breathing, feel your hurt. See you're bleeding, stop your heart. VII: Confrontations Halloway, ten lifetimes closer to death, somehow finding the courage to laugh. Laughter searing the witch's face, laughter burning her wicked soul. Standing, knowing he's beaten her back. Smiling, knowing the time is now. Striding purposefully into the street, knowing that he can save them somehow. Mister Dark leads the boys into the streets, Will to be made into a toy for freaks. Nightshade to be his partner for life after the carnival's over tonight. Carnival, one last attraction to see! Shoot the witch, gypsy who cannot die! Mister Dark gazes out over the crowd for a volunteer, someone to give it a try. Halloway calls out from deep in the crowd, Mister Dark cannot believe his eyes. Halloway's good hand picks up the gun to steady it he calls for the help of his son. VIII: Departures Far away, trapped in the mirror maze, the whole town calls his name. And Will awakes the spell the dust witch placed upon his head. Halloway, father and son standing as one as Mister Dark gives them the bullet and Charles carves into a crescent moon. Mister Dark stares at the bullet, he doesn't yet understand the meaning of what Charles has done, so he let's the game proceed. But the moon he carved isn't a moon at all, it's his smile the bullet carries and this totem finds it's way to the witch's heart. The gun cracks and the Witch knows this and now is dead! Chaos spreads, and Charles and Will run to the maze to rescue Jim. Charles walks in, confronted by reflections of a million ancient men. Staring back and making him older, a lifetime full of regrets. A man who never knew his son, a man whose deeds were never done. Halloway rises from the hall of shattered mirrors, he picks up his son and runs with him across the carnival grounds. Nightshade, still upon the carousel, Charles and Will help him down. Another boy appears saying: "Mister Dark's gone and the four of us must give chase." Halloway looks at the strange young boy, he sees him for what he is. Mister Dark made younger again by the power of the carousel. Charles picks the boy up, holds him close and feels his hatred. And with grave determination lets his heart fill with love for his life and his son. And returns the boy's hate with this love and it courses through Dark's young body, and he withers and dies. As the carnival tents disappears, the three of them spring laughing back to town. Two boys and one middle-aged man no longer quite so old as he thought. Far away but much too close for comfort, far away but much too close for comfort.

Submitted by Corpse Grinder — Apr 26, 2025